By William Selmah, wselmah@gmail.com
When the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) – a consortium of four top political parties in Liberia–finally elected Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Alexander Cummings as their new chairman, pundits welcomed the news, albeit cautiously, considering the history of past political alliances and how they soon crumble even while still in the incubating period.
All eyes are set on how this strong the glue holding this collaboration will be up till the placing of candidates on the ballot box, beginning first with the pending 2020 midterm Senatorial elections nationwide.
Cumming’s takeover of the CPP coincided last week with the formal signing of a CPP legal Framework agreement, with the ultimate objective of putting up a united front in the 2020 presidential and general elections.
Among other things, Article four of the CPP framework document calls for the presentation of “a single presidential ticket and or legislative candidates for all elections leading up to and including 2023 general and presidential elections; to forge and support a common national interest and present a common political agenda to the Liberian people.”
In a message he posted on the Social Media Network, Facebook after taking over the Chairmanship of the CPP, Mr. Cummings, the former executive Coca Cola Africa said:
“I accept to lead the CPP with humility and humble confidence, promising inclusive and consensus leadership, but with firmness and disciplined execution.”
In most cases, the failure of heads of political groups constituting such alliances or coalitions to tame their egos, has always been the root cause of their disintegration.
Cognizant of this, outgoing Chairman Benoni Urey appeared to have struck the chord to address public apprehensions when he assured that this time around, national interest will replace personal ambitions.
“We decided to leave out individual political ambition and seek electoral reform, development, and unity among us and the Liberian people,” he said.
Urey also added that this is the reason why no one has heard him talk about winning an election or running for the presidency.
He had stood as a presidential candidate during the last election in 2017, which brought George Weah to power. That followed another failed attempt to hold together a similar marriage of strange political bed fellows.
The CPP comprises the All Liberian Party (ALP), Alternative National Congress (ANC), Liberty Party (LP) and the former ruling Unity Party (UP).
Urey believes that fundamentally, there exists absolutely no problem among the collaborating parties.
But the only fear factor, he noted, lies in “our political ambitions, so we must lay our political ambitions aside and think about the suffering of our people. We must listen to the will of the Liberian people.”
That note seems to have resonated with most of their sympathizers who took to the airwaves; particularly phone in shows to express their delight for the progress made so far by the CPP, even though with some words of caution.
“At least they have completed one step. Another major step still ahead is choosing the rightful candidate; and if they make any mistake there, Weah will beat them flat again,” one of the callers on a live radio talk show said.
If this coalition holds together and produce an ideal candidate for their ticket, they could probably emerge as the perfect match to incumbent George Weah at the next presidential polls in 2023.
The four parties under the CPP banner have their work cut out as they desire “to work toward an eventual merger of the constituent political parties; to strengthen our democracy through grassroots engagement with our people, using town hall meetings, community engagements, radio and technology, etc.; to reduce the number of political parties to an affordable number in response to the desire of our people; to ensure gender-equality in public service.”